


Waverly Croft, Archaeologist in training

by GirlRuledByPluto



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-13 03:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16885188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlRuledByPluto/pseuds/GirlRuledByPluto
Summary: This is actually a college Wayhaught AU. Waverly is an Anthropology major because she wants to be an archaeologist.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if anything doesn't make sense or is misspelled. I did not really feel like proof reading.  
> [Tumblr](https://anametodefineme.tumblr.com/)  
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There’s nothing like being in your fourth year, about to get your bachelor’s degree, and realizing that you’re missing a credit and it’s from a prerequisite class for freshman. In a way Waverly Earp felt embarrassed that she was going to have to take a first year psychology class, when she’s in her fourth year, well on her way to a doctorate in anthropology. Oh well, there was no way to undo the past so all she could do was give it her best and not let it drag down her GPA. 

Standing outside the door to the class, she took a deep breath. What was the worst that could happen? She would be a little annoyed and distracted during class? It’s not like that wasn’t something she couldn’t make up for on her own time anyways. She turned the handle and the door creaked open slowly. The lights in the room weren’t even on, was she in the correct room? Sure it was an 8AM class but she couldn’t actually be the first person here, she was only 10 minutes early! Waverly looked down at the syllabus their professor had them print out from BlackBoard to make sure she was in the right place. ‘Room 117A - Revenant Hall’ which in fact did match up with where she was.

The anxiety ridden pupil turned on the lights in the room and took a look around. It had the same layout as an amphitheatre style lecture hall, just much smaller. She walked down to the front of the room, taking a seat in the front row. Sure, the front row was where the ‘dorks’ sit, or whatever, but it was also the best place to not be disrupted by your peers, and you’re close enough to the professor to ask questions as needed.

Waverly put down her sequin covered backpack and pulled out a pink pen with a fluffy feathery end and a set of purple/pink/green highlighters, a silver coloured rhinestone embroidered 5 subject notebook, and her textbook ‘Introduction to Psychology - With a twist’. She meticulously opened her notebook, and wrote the date out at the top of the page and the name of the textbook next to it. As she set her pen down she heard the doorknob twist and the door creak open. Finally she wasn’t the only person in here, confirmation that she didn’t miss an email about class being cancelled or something. 

The woman who walked in was tall, with striking red hair. She wore a grey button down with a slim black tie and black slacks. She seemed very well dressed for an 8am freshman class, she also seemed a lot older than someone who she expected to see in the class. But who was Waverly to judge? She was in the class too and was certainly not a freshman. The woman smiled at her and walked up to her, hand extended for a good shake. Waverly took her hand delicately and shook it, smiling back softly.

“Hi there. I’m surprised you beat me here, last year everyone would show up 5 minutes late to my 8AM, so I figured it would be alright to be lax with my timing. You seem to have proven me wrong though,” the woman smirked at Waverly, whom seemed a bit surprised by the information she just took in, “I’m Professor Haught. It’s nice to meet you, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy my class.”

One of Waverly’s eyebrows unconsciously lifted slowly with confusion. “I’m Waverly, Waverly Earp. It’s nice to meet you Professor… Haught.” She kind of smiled and then continued on, “I’m sorry, you’re just so young, at first I thought you were just a very well dressed student. “

  
  


Professor Haught’s expression softened as she grinned, and she sat on the table inches from Waverly’s textbook. “Oh well this is only my second year teaching. The sooner I get started, the sooner I can retire, no?” She chuckled to herself a bit and then finished what she was saying, “I’ve got a lot of fresh ideas and perspective though, everyone seemed to pretty much enjoy my classes last year. And in the off chance, Miss Waverly Earp, that you need help, I’ve got some pretty long office hours. I’m even a morning person so I’m usually up here by 7AM. But I doubt you will need my help” the redhead motioned to Waverly’s supplies, “you seem like you’ve got everything under control.” 

The professor made her way over to her desk, where she started reviewing some papers, most likely the syllabus and some type of homework for the class. Waverly looked at the clock, which read 8:05AM, and almost like clockwork the classroom began to fill with students. Really though she didn’t mind being the first person there, it gave her time to get focused and prepare her supplies, review her notes and ask any questions she had. Even though this was just a required class, Waverly took all over her classes seriously. She was not only obviously paying thousands of dollars to be here, but also they wouldn’t make you take the classes if they didn’t think you needed them for some reason.

By 8:10 the room seemed about as full as it was going to get. Waverly looked around and counted 17 people. That was one thing she really did love about Ghost River Private University was the small class sizes. There was a young boy sat to Waverly’s left who has introduced himself as a 16 year old Jeremy Chetri, a Bioengineering major. To her right a redhead who looked to be about her sister Wynonna’s age, her name was Mercedes and she was a Business major. 

Professor Haught finally stood up from her desk in the front of the room. She took a few steps forward, standing directly in front of Waverly. She smiled down at her young pupil, and then stole her syllabus from on top of her textbook. “So,” she addressed the room, “for anyone who doesn’t check their email, I posted a copy of the syllabus to BlackBoard and told you all to print off your own copy. Don’t worry though, it wasn’t actually mandatory. I did that so that you would all have test, exam, and project dates ahead of time for your planners, as well as so you could get an understanding for how this class is going to run.”

The professor placed Waverly’s syllabus back down in front of her, and walked her way up the rows of students. “This is a class where you are really going to have to not give a shit in order to fail. I’d like to start by mentioning that attendance is neither mandatory nor part of your grade. You’re paying thousands of dollars to be here so who am I to force you to do something you’re paying for. I do recommend showing up though, as all professors do. I operate under a lecture style of teaching, though you’ll quickly find out that it feels more like talking. There will be no graded homework in this classroom. Tests will be 30% of your grade, projects 30%, and the Exams 40%. Now, some of you may be thinking that you’re a terrible test taker, and that’s okay! All tests and exams are open note, and that’s why homework isn’t graded. It will be up to you to do any homework ‘suggestions’ that I put out there for you. That being said, you may use laptops to take notes or do anything that you please really, I’m not the boss of you. But you may not use laptops during tests or exams. All test and exam notes must be taken by hand. If you have any disabilities that would hinder you from taking hand written notes, please come speak with me after class and we will work something out.”

All of the students seemed perceptive of everything that Profesor Haught was saying. Not too many of her peers actually even looked like freshmen, Waverly noted. Perhaps it was because it was an 8AM. Waverly found herself respecting Professor Haught more and more as she spoke. It seemed like she genuinely cared about her students, and respected everyone’s personal journeys that brought them into this classroom. 

“Now, I like to know everyone’s names, and a little bit about you. It might seem cliche but it has been psychologically proven that someone’s name is one of the most important things to them. So if I can remember all your names, hopefully none of you will drop my class,” the redhead chuckled a bit to herself as well as a couple of students, “but more importantly if we establish a connection I hope that you will feel more comfortable coming to me for anything you need. It doesn’t even have to be for this class, if you need tutoring for another class but are too nervous to pursue that alone, you’re having issues with your dorm mate, anything at all, I am here for you guys. I’m here before class every day at 7AM, and after class ends at 10AM I stay here for another 2 hours before lunch. Which by the way if you ever want to bother me on my lunch I’m almost always at Shorty’s Saloon. After that I have another class at 1PM to 3PM, and then I’m here until 6PM. But enough of my rambling, lets go around, everyone introduce yourself by name, major, and why you think you won’t need psychology with your major.”

The first person to speak was named Chrissy, her major was cosmotology, which was a bit strange since GRPU didn’t really have a good program for it. “I won’t need psychology because when I’m doing someone’s hair or makeup, I don’t need to know about their daddy issues or their childhood trauma, I’m just there to make them feel cute.”

This response made Professor Haught chuckle, as it seemed to be something she had heard before. She smiled in an understanding way to Chrissy, and began to explain why she needed psychology. “Now see you’re not wrong. You don’t need to know about people’s ‘daddy issues’ OR their ‘childhood trauma’ to do their hair and makeup. But you want to know what you will need? You’re going to need to be able to read the way that someone dodges a topic while you’re doing their hair, you’re going to need to be able to figure out what truly drives people to make a decision on if they’re going to give you a loan to start your own salon or a good review on Yelp.” She continued on for a bit longer, then moved to along to each student, explaining why they needed psychology for their major. 

“Hi everyone, my name is Waverly Earp. I’d like to just throw out there that if anyone need extra help or likes to do group studies, I have a pretty light schedule this semester and would love to get to know you guys! Anyways, I’m an Anthropology major, going for my doctorate. Hopefully I’ll be studying bones in Africa or old vases in India or something before too long here.” Waverly realized she was rambling, she was so nervous. Normally she was never this nervous talking in front of groups. Maybe she just really wanted to make a good impression. But why did she even care so much about that. “Sorry I’m rambling, haha. Anyways I know I need psychology. They wouldn’t make this class mandatory if we didn’t need it in every aspect of life. Anthropology especially, you need to know what makes people tick on an individual level to understand why they do things the way the do societally.” No comment was made on behalf of Professor Haught, she simply smiled and nodded at Waverly.

By the time they finished going through everybody’s names and majors, it was just about time for class to be out, 9:48. “Alright you guys, thank you for being so attentive today. I won’t see you again until Wednesday so you’ve officially got to days to read the introduction and chapter one in your textbooks. You don’t really need to take notes unless you want to. I’ll be going over it on Wednesday and answering questions. I would probably recommend taking notes of the lecture though. You guys can head out now. If you need a syllabus still I’ve got some copies on my desk. And like I said earlier, if you can’t do handwritten notes for the tests, come see me right about now.” 

Everyone packed up their things quickly and left, everyone except for a boy who had a cast around his forearm, and Waverly. The boy spoke to their Professor for a few moments, Waverly heard him mention that he was left handed and it was his left hand with the cast. He wasn’t predicted to be out of it until after the semester was over. He didn’t elaborate on why he had it but the young professor didn’t seem to want to pry. “That’s alright Robin, feel free to use your laptop. Just don’t break my trust during the tests, or I will have to fail you. Not that I would WANT to, it just would be unfair to everyone else if I didn’t.” She smiled at him as he thanked her and walked away. 

Waverly walked up to Professor Haught, smiling and waving at her nervously. Professor Haught leaned back in her chair, folded her hands over her stomach, and smirked at the Earp. “Now Waverly Earp, there is no way I can let you use your laptop during tests after watching you write down everyone’s names and majors.” She chuckled a bit and then raised an eyebrow, wondering why her pupil had really approached her.

“Oh, no no, gosh no. Professor Haught, I would seriously write down Robin’s notes for him too if that’s what he really wanted. It would help me remember more in the long run to do that, haha…” She looked to the ground as she chuckled nervously, grabbing her own bicep nervously. “No actually, I just wanted to say that I’m really looking forward to this class with you. I love the way you clearly already love us all and want to see us do well. And also I was wondering what kind of coffee you liked? 8AM is pretty early so I usually make myself a travel mug of the stuff before a class this early…”

“First of all, you can call me Nicole during my office hours.” Nicole’s expression softened and almost as if on cue, a ray of sunlight filled the classroom, reflecting off of Nicole’s brown eyes as she smiled. ‘Holy shit her eyes are… gorgeous’ Waverly thought to herself. “Second, I love toasted medium roast hazelnut coffee.” Nicole leaned forwards towards her student, leaving only a couple inches between the two. “And thank you for pointing that out. I feel like the easiest way to make a difference is to just, care. I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’, well that’s how I like to live.”

Waverly beamed and waved a goodbye to her new favourite professor. “I’ll see you on Wednesday.” The brunette frantically made her way out of the classroom, quietly speaking a mantra to herself “toasted medium roast hazelnut coffee…”


	2. Medium Roast Toasted Hazelnut Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly makes her professor some coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I just realized that I make the cafe christmas theme'd even though it's the beginning of the semester (which would mean it's either september or january) so just roll with it because I'm in a christmas as fuck mood and also do not feel like rewriting that part  
> [Tumblr](anametodefineme.tumblr.com)  
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Waverly had just gotten done with her last class of Tuesday. She was walking out of class with a friend she made in her anthropology class. They were talking about how close they were to getting their degrees, which jogged her memory. “Oh shoot! I’m sorry I’ve really got to go to the cafe!! I forgot I’ve got something I need to get from there!! I’m so sorry, we will talk more on Thursday. Bye!!” And with that she bolted, making her way to the local cafe across campus. 

She entered the little store greeted by the sound of the bell above the door jingling, followed by a friendly hello from the employee that was working there. She was the only person in the cafe besides a student working on their laptop. The aroma of coffee wafted throughout the shop as well as the faint scent of vanilla pastries. Waverly happily made her around the store, looking at all the different bags of beans they sold. The employee walked up to her and offered some help, “Hey there, my name is Rosita. Can I help you find anything?” The woman smiled at Waverly and seemed very genuine. 

“Oh hi there! Yeah I’m actually… my professor said she likes toasted medium roast hazelnut coffee? I’ve got a french press and I’d like to start bringing her some coffee to our 8AM.” Waverly looked around some more, not seeming to be able to find what she was looking for. Maybe they just didn’t sell it. To be honest Waverly wasn’t really sure the difference between roasted and not, and between medium, dark, and light roast. “I’m not going to lie I don’t really know much about coffee.”

Rosita chuckled a bit and raised her index finger, signaling for Waverly to hold on for a second. The employee made her way into the back of the store. Waverly took the brief break to take a look around the little coffee shop. She knew that it was local and also the only location they had open yet. It was a very quaint but also rustic. The walls, counters, and floors we’re all made of wood of different shades. They also had a fireplace that was burning a yule log in the middle right across from the cash register. The lighting inside was very soft with the sunset on the horizon and the pastel christmas lights and garland. Stockings alined the counter, a little dreidel and a kinara on the counter, a bendera ya taifa hung on the wall, and there was a menorah in the window up front. Most importantly of all, she noticed, was the mistletoe hanging above one of the couples tables.

The employee finally re-emerged a few moments later with the bag of coffee beans that Waverly was looking for. Rosita plopped the bag into Waves hands and gave her a knowing smile, “Well for starters, the darker the roast the less the caffeine. Medium roast coffee is going to be a more balanced flavour and smell, it lacks in the grainy taste and acidity of a light roast, and lacks the bitter almost burnt flavour of a dark roast. ” Waverly’s eyes held a sparkle of intrigue and curiosity in them as she finished glancing at the decorations around her and then down at the bag. So it was no wonder Rosita could tell that she had a dozen questions mulling in her mind. “So you said you’re going to be using a french press right? Well i don’t know what kind of grinder you have right now, but the grinder is the most important part. You’re going to want a burr grinder, because most other grinders make the grains too small which can escape through the filter and also get over extracted which is going to make it more bitter. We have one in the store so as long as you buy your beans from us we can just grind them for you. You’ll want to use roughly a 1 cup water to 2 tablespoon ratio. Your water should be heated to boiling and then left to sit for about a minute, if the water is too hot then it can scorch your grounds. Make sure to stir the grounds around in the water before you press it and then let them sit for about 4 minutes.” Rosita smiled and winked to Waverly, who seemed to be astounded by all of her knowledge on the topic of coffee and french presses. 

“Wow… you sure do know a lot.” Waverly looked at the ground almost ashamed at her own lack of knowledge after talking to someone who felt like a genius. She realized that she would still need a travel mug for the coffee so she made her way over to the selection of mugs that the store had to offer. There was one covered in cactus’, one with a poop emoji, a purple one and a silver one, and one with cats on it. “I’ll also take this.” Waverly smiled and grabbed the travel mug as well. She walked up to the counter to pay for her items as Rosita made her way around the other side.

“So one bag of medium roast toasted hazelnut coffee beans, and one travel mug. Do you want me to grind your beans up for you real quick?” Waverly nodded as Rosita took the bag and poured them into the top of the grinder. She turned the machine on and the sound of gears and crunching filled the cafe. The evenly sized grounds poured out the bottom and back into the bag. “So, that has you at $30.57 after tax.” Waverly handed Rosita $35 and took all her stuff.

“You can keep the change, I don’t need a receipt. Thank you so much for all of your help Rosita, I’m sure I will see you around again soon!” The small brunette merrily trotted out of the the cafe and started to make her way back to her dorm. 

-THE NEXT MORNING- 

The alarm clock sounds off, and Waverly pops out of bed. She strides across her dorm room adorned in her underwear and a large sweater, and promptly shuts the alarm off which read 6AM. With a big yawn she wipes the sleep out of her eyes and finds her way to her dresser. She changes into a white lace shirt, a light silvery blazer, grey pants, and black boots. She looked at herself in the mirror with a smirk and then puts her hair into a ponytail with bangs wisping down the sides. 

It was Wednesday which meant she would have psychology in 2 hours, however she planned on being early so that she could get ahead in the class. Waverly had done the reading that was assigned to the class and was feeling fairly confident about the class, it seemed straightforward enough. However she still wanted to touch base with Professor Haught and make sure that she actually understood what she read, and not just thought she understood. 

Anyways it was time for coffee, so Waverly grabbed out her tea kettle and left her room making her way down to her floors water fountain. She filled the kettle and ran back to her room so she could get a move on with her day. She fumbled with the hot-plate-that-she-is-totally-not-supposed-to-have-because-it’s-against-dorm-policy, turning it on and placing her kettle on it. “Let the water sit for a minute after it’s boiling,” she muttered eagerly to herself. Looking around, Waverly slowly realized that she didn’t really have much to measure the proportions out with. So she grabbed the travel mugs that she was going to be putting the coffee in for measuring out the water, and a spoon that she had stolen from the cafeteria and figured it was about ¾ of a tablespoon. 

Before too long the kettle was singing out that the water was boiling and it was snatched off the hot plate. Waverly held it for about a minute, then poured the water into the mug and from the mug into the french press, then repeated the action. She scooped 6 scoops of the coffee grounds into the french press as well, and began to swirl them around with her spoon. She allowed the flavour to be absorbed for about 4 minutes before finally pouring it into the travel mugs. Looking at the clock it was now 6:45 so she grabbed her bag, put her textbook and notebook in it, and scurried out the door. It was about a 10 minute walk to the classroom so hopefully the coffee wouldn’t get too cold on the walk.

Waverly arrived at the classroom, and twisted the doorknob. It was still locked. She looked to the sign next to the door that read “ROOM 117-A REVENANT HALL”. Taking a deep gulp, she realized that she was almost kind of nervous in a way. Why was she nervous? It’s not like she was doing anything bad or like she had anything to worry about. She gulped her anxieties down and tried to distract herself mentally. The coffee’s still felt warm in her hands so that was a good sign, though depending on how long it took Professor Haught to get to the room, it might still have time to cool down.  
Waverly’s ears perked at the sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor. She glanced to her left and watched as Professor Haught rounded the corner heading straight in her direction. The anxiety and nervousness welled up again inside of Waverly and she swore she could feel some of the colour leave her face. Her professor was so young, so well put together, so… she couldn’t quite find the words. Waverly realized she must just really look up to Professor Haught, and was nervous about making a fool of herself in front of the woman. 

“Hey there, you do know class doesn’t start for another hour right? And we’re nowhere near daylight savings time so what’s up?” The redhead beamed at her pupil, happy that seeing Waverly Earp was how she got to start her day out. She had such a good feeling about the awkward little brunette. Her keys jingled as she unlocked the door and let the two of them into the room. They made their way down to the Professor’s and Nicole took a seat in her chair as Waverly looked at her hopefully.

“Yeah, so I read the introduction and the first chapter and it seemed pretty easy but I also wanted to make sure that I actually understood, and don’t just think I understand. Like when you think you solve a math problem perfectly but then your answer isn’t even an option on the multiple choice. “ Waverly’s eyes dropped to the floor as she let out an awkward half laugh at herself. 

Nicole raised an eyebrow at her pupil and thoughtfully placed her index finger on her chin, pondering at what her pupil had said. After a brief pause she finally figured out how to respond, “you do know that I am going over this in class today right? I said that on monday… so unless there was something specific you were confused about I really don’t know how to help you any more than if you showed up an hour later…”

Waverly’s face reddened as she grasped that she had made a fool out of herself when her one and only goal for the morning was to not do that. She took a seat on the professor’s desk and sighed, placing the travel mug in front of Nicole. “Well, then I guess I’ve got an hour to kill. I’m sorry for wasting your time. I’ll get out of here for now.” Waverly hopped off the desk and was looking hopefully to Nicole to say something to stop her from her embarrassment.

Nicole grabbed the travel mug which she assumed was for her, and beamed as she saw all the cat on it. She opened the drinking spout of the mug and inhaled the aroma of her favourite coffee. “This was so sweet of you Waverly…” Her gaze made its way to her student now who appeared frozen with nerves. Nicole reached out and delicately grabbed Waverly by the wrist. “You can hang out with me in here until class starts, you don’t have to leave.”  
The small Earp girl felt a heat rising all throughout her body at her Professors touch, so soft and caring. “Oh… okay. Then I won’t! Leave that is…” she smiled at her feet for a moment before looking up and catching eyes with Nicole. Those eyes that were so lovely and reminded Waverly of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Surely eyes like those could never look at another person with judgement in them. Waves felt all the tension in her body relax, she felt safe. So she took her seat on the professor’s desk again and beamed at the woman with a smile that could set the world on fire.

“So miss Waverly Earp, archaeology huh? What sparked the interest in you to study the past in such a hands on way? Are you hoping to be like Lara Croft?” Nicole realized she was still holding on to Waverly’s wrist and felt slightly bad, hoping to not make her student uncomfortable she lets go and places her hand back into her own lap. She looked at her student with curiosity filling her eyes to the brim. She wanted to know everything about this girl, like if she didn’t she would simply wither away into nothing.

Waverly exchanged another gaze with her professor before her confession, “well, my sister Wynonna did have a thing for the Tomb Raider games back when we were little girls.” She looked up, her eyes dancing thoughtfully through the past before returning back to the present. “But no, I don’t have too much of a desire to live such an action packed life. Besides, I’m certainly no Angelina Jolie. I would actually love to find things like the Arc of the Covenant though, so maybe I wouldn’t so much mind living a life like Lara Croft.” Her eyes made their way back to her feet, her insecurity starting to take over her story. “I don’t want anything too special though. I just think that we can learn a lot about our goals and progress in the future by learning where we have been from.

Nicole felt a deep sense of admiration bubbling up in her for Waverly Earp. This girl was so humble, so altruistic in her studies. How could someone dedicate their life simply to the betterment of mankind? Then again, that’s sort of what a university professor does as well in their own way. “I mean, I feel like you’d put Angelina Jolie to shame but that’s just me. I know that you’re going to be a great archaeologist someday, I can feel it in my bones. You’re going to travel the world and make great discoveries, and the world will be a better place because you’re in it. I just know it.” Nicole placed her hand on top of Waverly’s for a moment, exchanging a gaze filled with respect and admiration.

Two student’s walked into the classroom and Nicole casually slid her hand away from Waverly’s. Looking at the clock it was 7:05, time had flown by with this girl and it was already time for class. Waverly hopped off of Nicole’s desk and made her way to her seat in the front of the classroom. They locked eyes again as the classroom began to fill with students ready for the lessons of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment! Let me know if you enjoyed or what your thoughts are or anything at all, I would also love constructive criticism. Don't forget to leave a kudos to show your support and bookmark to stay up to date, more chapters to come. Thank you so much for reading!  
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**Author's Note:**

> More chapters to come so be sure to bookmark and keep up with this fic. Let me know what you think! I'm still new to writing fanfiction, constructive criticism is always welcome. Leave a kudos if you enjoyed, I crave dat validation.  
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